


a campfire tale

by dandelionlighters



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, Succubus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:40:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27880141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dandelionlighters/pseuds/dandelionlighters
Summary: “A succubus takes the form of a loved one in order to seduce their prey, disguising themselves as whoever the victim finds most attractive.”Hope heard none of it. Her eyes were on Josie. Memories of the night before haunted her. They weren’t real, yet she couldn’t get them out of her head. How could something she imagined be so hard to forget?The siphoner glanced over and their eyes caught across the table. But only for a moment. Josie blushed and looked away, almost as if she was hiding something, too.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 73
Kudos: 466





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> “I was ready to give it all up—everything. I was half out of my mind with love. And I didn’t think twice about what I was throwing into the fire, as long as I could keep it burning for just another minute. 
> 
> That was how I loved you in the end. With my body cold and shuddering. With empty hands over smoldering ash, counting out the minutes.”
> 
> —Lang Leav

That night, the party at the old mill was crowded. Buzzing with students and beer.

Hope could spot a few empty, red solo cups on the forest floor, thrown away like trash. She briefly wondered if anyone was going to pick them up. 

Back to the party. 

It was supposed to be a small pack bonder for the wolves. _Supposed_ to be, though it didn’t quite end up that way. Hope knew it was her fault. 

A few days ago, Maya Machado had invited the tribrid to the pack party. 

As a _date_. 

Hope hadn’t realized it at the time. Like the oblivious mess that she was, she invited Josie. Her _girlfriend_. That Maya didn’t know about yet. 

Josie invited her sister, who invited all the witches and MG. MG invited Kaleb, who invited the rest of the vampires at the school. 

Hope had shown up to the party early. 

For Maya. 

As the newest member of the pack, it was the wolf’s turn to buy the keg. Hope offered to help out with her fake ID, and the two went out of town to buy the largest one they could find. 

(High alcohol tolerance was a bitch.)

They set up the keg outside the mill while the rest of the pack built a small campfire. That was at ten o’clock. No self-respecting party started before ten, Maya claimed. Hope didn’t care. 

It was now almost midnight. Hope sat with her girlfriend on a log by the campfire, holding a cup of beer in one hand and holding Josie’s own hand in the other. She pretended not to notice the way Josie kept stealing sips out of her cup. 

The siphoner wasn’t tipsy, not _yet_ , but her cheeks were flushed a faint pink and her eyes were darker than usual. Hope subtly moved the cup of beer out of her reach. 

Around half an hour ago, Josie had complained about being cold. Hope barely hesitated before taking off her jacket and giving it Josie. Not that she was whipped or anything. 

(Whatever. It got her a kiss on the cheek.) 

A few feet away, Maya glared at the jacket. She had been trying to flirt with the tribrid all night. It was only then, when Hope looked up and caught her eye, that she realized—

Fuck. She had never actually told the wolf that she was dating Josie. It wasn’t that she was _trying_ to lead Maya on. It just slipped her mind. 

Dating Josie was easy. As easy as learning how to breathe, as easy as learning the steps to walk. It made Hope feel _normal_ , and that was all she had ever wanted. Sure, it consumed her, and sometimes she was sure it would ruin her, but loving Josie had never been hard. It had always been easy. 

It was _not_ easy telling Maya. At all. 

“So, wait, let me get this straight,” the dark-haired girl said slowly, glancing between Hope and Josie across the fire with narrowed eyes. She sat on her own log by herself, her hands shoved deep into her pockets. “You two are...” 

Maya searched for the right word, puffing out an exhale of a breath. Hope watched it form a cloud in the cold air. 

“ _Together_?” Maya finished. 

Hope glanced at her girlfriend, almost as if she needed to confirm the fact with her first, then looked back at Maya and nodded. 

“Yes.” 

The wolf blinked. Once, twice. A third time. She couldn’t get it through her head. She stared between them like it might help, but it didn’t. 

“Sorry, it’s just—“ Maya cut herself off and swallowed hard. It looked like it hurt. “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

Hope bit her lip. The truth was, she had no idea why. “I thought I mentioned it before,” she muttered, trying to remember the last few times she had hung out with Maya. 

Hmm. There was the school tour Hope gave her a few weeks ago. She hadn’t mentioned it then. The study session they had in Hope’s room on Monday. She hadn’t mentioned it then, either. Not even when Maya asked her to come to the pack party, nor when they left the school earlier. 

“You didn’t,” the wolf told her. “Not once.” 

Hope blushed. She could feel Josie glaring into the side of her head. Her dark eyes left a burning trail of fire in their wake. “I thought it was obvious?” 

The words came out like a question and her voice cracked. The tribrid had to resist the urge to hide her face in her hands. 

“ _Obvious_?” Maya repeated dumbly. “I’ve been flirting with you all month.” 

Yup. Definitely the wrong thing to say. Hope clenched her eyes shut at the shriek that came next. 

“You’ve been _what_?” 

Josie almost fell off the log they were sitting on. Hope genuinely couldn’t tell if it just was an accident, or if the siphoner was trying to lunge at Maya to attack her. 

At another time, she would have laughed. It wouldn’t be the first time the two had fought. Then again, Hope knew Josie would lose. She loved her girlfriend, but Maya _had_ kicked her ass at the flag football game. 

Sighing, Hope gently pulled Josie back with their clasped hands. She brought them up to her lips, kissing the top of the other girl’s knuckles. She only lingered for a second or two, but Maya scoffed and looked away as if they were full-on making out right in front of her. 

“I’m sorry,” Hope apologized. She couldn’t tell if she was talking to Josie or Maya. She somehow felt like she was in trouble with both. 

“I just don’t _understand_ ,” Maya said, leaning away as if she was still taken aback and needed time to think. “You guys are really dating? _How_? How did you, when did you— _when_?” 

Her eyes darted wildly between them. They were gold and angry. The gold passed after a few seconds, but the anger stayed. 

Hope gulped nervously. “It’s a long story...” She trailed off, not sure where she would even begin. The campfire was starting to die down. 

“ _So_?” Maya snarked, arching an unimpressed eyebrow. She crossed her arms over her chest. “It’s not like you haven’t wasted enough of my time already.” 

The tribrid felt her stomach clench with guilt at the bitter tone. Her breath caught in her throat. 

“ _Maya_ ,” she warned, shifting her weight in front of Josie. Just enough. She didn’t want to take any risks, though she knew deep down that Maya would never try anything. 

“Just tell me.” The wolf schooled her expression and shrugged, suddenly looking unaffected. “Against my better judgement, I want to hear the story.” 

Hope glanced at Josie, silently asking the other girl if it was okay. When Josie dipped her head down in a tiny nod to give her permission, she turned back to Maya.

“Fine.” She raised her cup of beer to her lips and downed the whole thing in one go. She tried to savor the weak sting it left behind in her throat. “It started with a monster...”


	2. Chapter 2

It didn’t start with a monster. 

Not exactly. 

It started with a choice.

_Apple or banana?_

Hope narrowed her eyes at the two pieces of fruit in front of her. She had been standing in the cafeteria line for a good five minutes, and so far the only piece of food she had on her plate was a protein bar. 

She _could_ choose the banana. It was a good source of potassium. Or the apple. She could always use some vitamin C. But the banana wasn’t ripe yet. And the apple was slightly bruised. 

_Seriously._ Had someone dropped it on the floor? It looked more brown than red at this point. Hmm. Better go with the banana, Hope thought. 

—

“Who cares that much about fruit?” Maya grumbled underneath her breath. Hope chose to ignore her. Whatever. It just wasn’t important. 

“I think it’s cute,” Josie cut in, a small, teasing smile playing on her lips. She bumped Hope’s shoulder with her own and winked at her, as if the two were in on some kind of inside joke.

Across from them, Maya couldn’t help but feel like she was intruding. 

—

The tribrid moved to grab the fruit when she felt someone step in line beside her. 

It was a wonder she hadn’t seen them coming from miles away. Hope took a deep breath as her hand went still. The familiar, sweet scent of vanilla and smoke made her eyes flutter shut. For just a second. She felt her body relax for the first time that morning and smiled without realizing it.

The truth was, she’d been on edge since she woke up hours ago. 

“No cutting!”

The complaint came from the boy behind them. Both girls pretended not to hear him. 

“Hey,” Josie said, her voice much higher than it usually was. Hope nodded her head in acknowledgment, still staring at the fruit. “Where did you go?” 

The words should have made her do a double-take, should have made her hesitate, should have made her do _something_ , anything at all, but the only thing Hope did was nod distractedly. 

“Um. I’ve been here, I guess,” she told the other girl, looking around the dining room.  
  


Her eyes returned to the fruit with a frown. She couldn’t take the banana, she realized. It was the last one, and she knew for a _fact_ that Josie didn’t like red apples. 

“ _Here_?” Josie knitted her eyebrows together, a confused pout playing at her lips. Hope hardly noticed.

“Mhmm,” she hummed, taking the apple. She finally turned away from the fruit and looked at Josie for the first time. “What about you? Did you sleep well?” 

It was a mistake. 

The siphoner looked _pissed_. 

—

“Wait,” Maya interrupted. “Why?” 

Hope sighed. “Why _what_?” 

“Why was she mad?” the wolf asked. She turned to Josie, who was using magic to stoke the campfire. Her hand glowed red where it held Hope’s own, the pad of her thumb gently stroking the tribrid’s knuckles. Maya eyed their joined hands with thinly-veiled jealousy. “Why were you mad?” 

“I was _getting_ there,” Hope told her. Maya rolled her eyes and motioned for her to continue. 

—

“Did I sleep well?” Josie asked angrily, folding her arms over her chest. 

The tone of her voice made Hope rethink her entire life. Her mind went into overdrive as she wondered why Josie was upset with her. She couldn’t remember a single thing she had done wrong in the past twenty-four hours. 

_Fuck._ Hope swore in her head. Maybe Josie wanted the apple?

No. It couldn’t be. There had to be something else. But what was it? The tribrid began to retrace her steps, hoping she had just forgotten whatever it was. 

Hmm.

Last night, Josie had come over to her room to help with research on Malivore. They worked for a few hours until it was time to go to bed. Hope suggested a friendly sleepover, not wanting Josie to leave just yet. Since it wasn’t a school night, the siphoner agreed and they both fell asleep on her bed. Hope woke up sometime in the early hours of the morning and couldn’t go back to sleep. Feeling restless, she snuck out for a run until it was time for her training session with Alaric. Instead of going back to her room, she went straight to the docks. 

“Oh!” Hope cursed herself inwardly. Of course! How could she have forgotten? “I’m sorry. I should have left a note. I had early training with your dad. I thought you wouldn’t mind...” 

Josie didn’t even blink. It seemed like she wasn’t going to let this go anytime soon. Though, if she was being honest, Hope didn’t get why the siphoner was acting like this was such a big deal. 

“But maybe I shouldn’t have assumed?” Hope asked slowly, watching Josie for her reaction. Still, Josie showed nothing. 

“I mean,” the tribrid corrected herself, “I shouldn’t have assumed. At all. Sorry.” 

A long, awkward beat of silence passed. Josie continued to just stare at her with that same blank, unreadable look on her face. Hope tried hard to swallow the sudden lump in her throat. 

“Is that all you have to say?” Josie stepped closer, her eyes searching. She gave Hope a frustrated look that told her she was missing something important. “Nothing else?” 

Hope watched the brunette shift her weight nervously from one foot to the other, her hands tucked underneath her elbows like she was hugging herself for warmth. She looked so small and unsure of herself, Hope didn’t know what to do. 

And they were starting to attract some attention. One could only hold up the cafeteria line for so long before other people started to notice. 

Hope racked her brain to come up with a reason as for why Josie was so mad at her. She nearly slapped herself across the face when she realized it. 

“You said something about grabbing breakfast together last night, didn’t you?” Hope lowered her voice. She tried to reach out, but the other girl dodged her before they could touch. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I should have waited for you. I completely forgot. Here, let me—“ 

She went to reach for the banana on the counter, but Josie stopped her. Hope felt like an idiot. As if a piece of fruit could have made things better. 

“No.” The siphoner shook her head to herself, looking impossibly disappointed. It only confused Hope even more. Where was all this coming from? “God, I’m so stupid.” 

The words were not for Hope, she could tell. If she didn’t have supernatural hearing, Hope wouldn’t have been able to hear them at all. She looked up and was surprised to see that Josie was close to tears. 

“I knew it would mean nothing to you,” she told Hope, so bitterly that it made her stomach twist. She screwed up her face in surprise and stepped back. “I don’t know why I thought—why I _hoped_ any differently. Of course you would want to pretend nothing happened.” 

Josie moved away and turned her head over her shoulder. It must have been to hide the way her bottom lip trembled. “So, so _stupid_.” 

“Hold on, Jo. What are you talking about?” Hope tried to bridge the distance between them by placing a reassuring hand on her arm, but Josie flinched away as if she’d been burned. Hope dropped her hand back to her side, undeniably stung. Her fingers twitched with _something_ , not rejection, not quite, but she couldn’t bring herself to name the feeling. “Pretend _what_ never happened?” 

Somehow, that only made Josie even angrier. She scoffed and sent Hope one last, disbelieving look before turning around and leaving the cafeteria line. 

The tribrid found herself at a loss for words, sputtering uselessly behind Josie. It took her a few seconds to collect herself, and even _then_ she still felt like she wasn’t ready for whatever would come next. 

“Josie!” she called after the other girl, rushing forward to catch up with her. She pulled her back by her wrist, fingers closing around the soft skin waiting for her there. “Wait.” 

The siphoner turned back around and their eyes met, but Hope suddenly forgot everything she had been waiting to say. She wanted to reassure Josie, reassure herself, maybe. The words were there, at the tip of her tongue, just _dying_ to get out, but nothing did. 

“Don’t worry,” Josie told her miserably. She trapped her bottom lip between her teeth and blinked fast, almost like she was trying to hold back tears. “I won’t tell Landon,” she said, and then she was gone. 

Hope struggled not to follow after her, and she struggled to hide that she wanted to. 

She let out a pathetic whimper as she watched the other girl walk away, leaving Hope standing there, alone, staring after her, silently wondering what the fuck had just happened. 

—

“Won’t tell Landon _what_?” Maya cut in, leaning forward curiously. Hope rolled her eyes for the fourth time that night and sighed. 

“I swear to God, Maya, if you interrupt me one more time,” she warned, tensing her shoulders in annoyance. Josie elbowed her in the stomach before she could finish her threat. 

Maya huffed out a sigh. “Fine. I’ll stop.”   
  
  


—

  
  
The funny thing was, she and Landon weren’t even _dating_ anymore. They weren’t _anything_. They were nothing.  
  


Well, technically, they were on a _break_. At least, that was the word Emma had used in their couple counseling session. Just until they figured things out on their own, the woman had said, suggesting that they needed to learn how to be apart before they could come back together again. 

There was no way Josie _didn’t_ know they were on a break, so again, Hope wondered what the hell the younger girl was talking about. 

For the rest of the day, she almost lost her damn mind thinking about it. Even worse, she couldn’t find Josie anywhere. Not in her room, not in the halls, not in the cafeteria line, not even with her sister or her friends. Wherever Hope was, Josie _wasn’t_. 

She was avoiding Hope, and she was using magic to do it. She must have been under a cloaking spell, the tribrid guessed. There could be no other reason why all her locator spells were suddenly failing, or why she couldn’t seem to track down the scent of vanilla and smoke anywhere.

Maybe Josie had even left the school. 

It unnerved her. In a way that felt impossible and somehow too easy all at once. She didn’t understand why Josie was mad at her, and she didn’t understand why she was avoiding her, either. 

It was somewhat late at night when Hope finally caught a flash of familiar, brown hair in one of the main halls. She was just coming back from the kitchen after leaving her room for a glass of water, but her mouth instantly ran dry once again. 

She didn’t call after the siphoner when she saw her, not wanting to scare her away. Instead, she walked calmly in order to catch her off guard. She didn’t want a repeat of this morning. 

When Hope was close enough, she pulled Josie back by her arm until the other girl could face her. There was something different about her, but Hope didn’t notice it right away.

Later, she would tell herself that she should have known. She would wonder how she hadn’t seen it before. 

(The scent of vanilla and smoke was gone.) 

Josie slowly turned around and noticed her, _fucking hell_ , did she _notice_ her. Her eyes were darker than Hope last remembered, slowly dragging up and down her body like she was taking her in for the first time. 

She had never seen Josie look at her that way. It sent a shiver down her spine and made Hope feel almost _self-conscious_ in her sweats. She regretted not putting something else on before leaving her room. 

The siphoner wasn’t wearing sweats at all. Instead, she was wearing the school uniform, even though it was Saturday. Hope didn’t think twice about it. She was too far gone. 

“Hey,” she said urgently. “About earlier, I don’t want to—“ 

Pink lips cut her off. 

“Shh,” the other girl murmured softly, in a voice like smoke. Her eyes darted around the hall before stopping on Hope. “Not here.” 

Before Hope could argue, Josie knocked on the door to the nearest room in the hall. She waited barely five seconds before pushing the door open and pulling the tribrid inside. 

Hope stumbled blindly into the dorm room, brilliant gold eyes searching through the dark. All the lights were off. It didn’t take long before Josie reached over and flicked the light switch on by the door. 

“Whose room is this?” the tribrid asked, the gold in her eyes fading back to blue. She looked around and frowned, not recognizing where they were. 

There was a bed in the corner of the room and a dresser on the other side of it, with a small rug and a desk in the center. 

“Nevermind,” Hope decided. “It doesn’t matter.” 

She turned back to Josie and took a deep breath. 

“Look, Jo,” she started, hoping the other girl could see how sorry she was. “I need to apologize. You’re my best friend and I don’t want to lose you. Just tell me what I did wrong and I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” 

Josie stared at her blankly, almost as if she had no idea what Hope was talking about and didn’t care to find out. The tribrid noticed that her fingers were undoing the buttons of her uniform shirt. 

Maybe she was hot? Hope wondered. The sound of the third button popping distracted her, pulled her from her thoughts, begging her to look, for just a moment. 

The tribrid regretted it not even a second later. 

She snuck a glance at Josie and instantly got an eyeful of the lacy, red bra the other girl was wearing underneath her shirt. 

Hope gulped thickly, lowering her eyes to the hardwood floor. Had Josie _always_ worn those types of things? She shook her head and forced herself to think about something else. 

“ _Did_ I do something wrong?” Hope asked the floor, more confused now than ever. 

She snapped her head back up when Josie suddenly stepped forward, no longer working on the buttons of her shirt. The siphoner closed the space between them and placed a hand on top of her chest, right over her heart. She didn’t siphon from Hope, didn’t do _anything_ , really. Not for a few seconds. 

“No,” Josie said, shaking her head quietly. The innocent smile on her lips made Hope feel like she was being played with. She couldn’t tell if she liked it or not. “You didn’t.”

Hope wasn’t sure what she was expecting. But it wasn’t _this_. 

The other girl moved the collar of her shirt aside, her fingers teasing every inch of skin they could find underneath. Hope bit back a groan when they lingered on a sensitive spot below her collarbone. She certainly wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as she did. 

She should have been used to it—this was _Josie_ , she was a touchy person, she always _had_ been—but this felt different. 

Unfamiliar. 

“Are you sure?” The tribrid forced herself to stay focused, but it was getting hard. Harder to think. Harder to breathe. Her head was spinning and she felt oddly flushed. She was sure her heart would give out any second now. “You seemed pretty upset with me earlier.” 

She didn’t even realize Josie was walking her backwards. Not until her knees hit the edge of the bed she had noticed earlier. She sucked in a shaky breath and stared up at Josie in surprise, but the other girl only smiled. 

“That was earlier,” she dismissed with a shrug, gently pushing Hope down with the hand on her chest. Hope let herself fall back until she was sitting on the bed, her hands fisted into the sheets. 

She wanted to ask what had changed from _earlier_ to _now,_ but she couldn’t come up with the right words. She couldn’t make much sense of anything at all. Josie had never acted like this before. She had never acted like this with _her_ . Hope had to remind herself that they were just friends, that they were just talking, that they were just _friends talking_. Even if Josie wasn’t feeling like herself right now. 

“O-kay,” Hope said slowly, not wanting to anger the other girl, but she couldn’t help but wonder… “You’re acting kind of weird. Have you been doing dark magic again?” 

Josie arched an eyebrow, like the idea amused her. She hovered over Hope on the bed, not yet touching and yet, too close to deny the intent. Just an inch, Hope thought, and the siphoner would be in her lap. 

(In a friendly way.) 

“Don’t be silly.” Josie laughed. It was a low, husky sound that made Hope want to smother it with her lips against hers and—

Oh. Oh _no_. 

That was _not_ what she wanted to do. No. She didn’t want to _kiss_ Josie. Her laugh was just attractive, _very_ attractive, that was all. It didn’t matter that they were close enough to breathe the same air. It didn’t matter that Josie was looking at her like she wanted to tear her clothes off. It didn’t matter that she was halfway in her lap. None of that mattered. 

“Josie.” There had to be something wrong. “You know you can tell me anything, right?” 

Hope swore the other girl’s eyes darkened, but _that_ would have been impossible. They were already darker than the night. _Fuck_. 

She watched Josie’s hands return to her shirt, her fingers tugging and pulling, playing with the buttons, taunting _her_. She wanted to take the other girl’s hands away and replace them with her own clumsy, inexperienced fingers. 

“ _Anything_?” Josie asked. 

There was something there, something deeper still, but Hope didn’t want to think about it. She could no longer ignore the ache in her chest from where Josie had touched her. The longing behind it. She found herself hypnotized by the feeling of being so close to her. She must have been in a trance. Maybe Josie had put the tribrid under her spell. Maybe this was all just her imagination. Maybe neither of them existed at all. 

“Yes.” Hope nodded, her eyes fluttering closed. She wasn’t entirely in control of her own mouth when she said, “Tell me what you need and I’ll…” 

Her breath hitched when Josie finally lowered herself down onto her lap, straddling her hips with her thighs. 

Hope clenched her teeth together to stop herself from doing something _dangerous_. Her eyes flickered yellow and blue and yellow again without stopping. Venom pooled thickly in her mouth. Hope swallowed around the sting it left behind, hissing out a sigh of relief as the siphoner undid the last button of her shirt. 

“More,” Josie whispered. “I need _more_.” 

It should have been a warning. 

Yet, Hope found herself leaning closer without realizing it. Close enough that their chests brushed with every breath. She could have run away. _Run._ Close enough that their noses bumped. She still had her magic. _Use it._ Close enough that Hope could touch her as much as she wanted. She was a fucking tribrid. _Be one. Be stronger._ She could have heeded the warning. She could have resisted. 

But she didn’t. 

“More of _you_.” Josie wrapped her arms around Hope’s neck to pull her even closer, dipping her head down to the skin of her throat. She pressed her lips to a secret spot under her ear, lingering for just a second. Hope could feel the other girl smile against her skin. “ _I need you_.” 

She didn’t know _who_ kissed _who_ first. 

It was impossible to tell. 

(Later, she would think that it was probably Josie, though a nagging, tiny voice in her head would whisper that it was _her_ , that she wanted it just as bad, that there was no lying to herself about it, no denying it.)

The kiss was nothing like she imagined, not that Hope ever _had_ imagined it. Their lips met so hungrily and fervently it hurt. Hours later, for all her supernatural healing abilities, the tribrid would swear she was still in pain. 

It was hurried and ruthless, demanding in a way that stole all the air out of her lungs before she could even take a lasting breath. Josie never gave her any time to recover. It was more of an attack than a kiss, and Hope—

She loved it. 

Josie smirked against her lips and giggled into her mouth, snaking her hands around her neck to rest them on Hope’s shoulders. She tried to lean away from the kiss, maybe to say something, but Hope just yanked her back down for another one. She never wanted to stop kissing Josie Saltzman. 

Her lips were soft and...and not warm, but _cold_. It didn’t bother Hope, though she knew it probably should have. At that moment, she didn’t think it mattered. 

She was just that fucking _horny_. 

She couldn’t find it in herself to care at all with Josie like this, in her lap, her cheeks flushed pink, panting hotly against her mouth, telling Hope that she _needed_ her. 

She wondered if the siphoner knew exactly where those words would get her. She must have. She must have known that she had the tribrid wrapped around her finger. She must have known that Hope was putty in her hands. 

And Hope was completely fine with that. 

She kept Josie firmly in her lap with both hands resting on her hips, holding her in place. The siphoner tried to squirm out of her grip to move closer, but Hope didn’t let her. She liked the control. 

The power. It satisfied the wolf inside her. Just enough. She could feel her wolf making itself known somewhere in the back of her mind, howling from behind the metal bars she kept it locked in, demanding that she made Josie _hers_. 

Heaven, hell, Hope didn’t know what this was. She just wanted _more_. She wanted to give herself to Josie—she wanted to give _all_ of herself—but she wanted to _take_ , too. The urge was there, calling to her, pleading with her to listen, _consuming_ her. When her vision started to flood with flashes of yellow, Hope knew it was time to stop. 

She finally backed away from the kiss, struggling to pull air into her aching lungs. It had only lasted about a minute or two, but she could barely breathe. 

(How the hell Josie lasted longer than her, she didn’t know. Maybe Hope just needed more practice.)

Her heart sunk with the realization of what had happened, of what she had _done_. She sat frozen, still panting, as she took in the image above her. _Josie_ , breathless, her lips shiny and red, Josie, breathless, _in her lap_ , with her shirt God knows where, looking absolutely _ruined_. 

If that wasn’t bad enough already, her skirt was hiked up around her hips, leaving her long legs wide open and her red panties in clear view. 

Hope was nothing short of horrified. Every inch of her skin felt like it was on fire. Her face burned hot and unforgiving. She let out a strangled noise at the back of her throat, biting down on her bottom lip hard enough to draw blood. 

She wondered if she should look away. It was the polite, _proper_ thing to do. But hadn’t she crossed that line a while ago? 

Fuck. This was moving too fast. 

“Josie.” Her eyes fell shut as the other girl dragged her teeth lightly over her pulse point, almost like a mistake. Hope choked on a moan and fought to keep her resolve. “Maybe we should—“ 

Josie pressed a finger over her lips to quiet her down. 

“Shh,” she purred into her ear. “Don’t you need me, too?” 

“Yes.” Hope nodded vehemently, angry at herself for not making it obvious. Did Josie even have to _ask_? “ _Yes_.”

Josie giggled at her reaction. She slowly took Hope’s hand in hers, guiding it under her skirt. The tribrid gulped messily as her fingers brushed over the soft, tanned skin of the other girl’s thigh. She barely stopped the groan unraveling at the back of her throat. 

“Why don’t you show me how much?” 

Hope blinked and swore she saw gold. Her breath caught as Josie rolled her hips down, trying to get Hope to touch her where she needed her to the most. Hope slowly closed her eyes and took a deep breath, feeling lightheaded. How embarrassing would it be if she passed out? 

“It’s okay,” Josie told her softly, after a long moment of hesitation. “You can touch me.”

Hope stared at her. It was like the other girl knew exactly what to say.

There was a pause, then, where she thought, _this was wrong, this was wrong, this was wrong,_ but the thought was gone before she could blink. 

Without warning, she pulled Josie off her lap in a mess of tangled limbs and shoved her into the nearby wall. 

Hard.

The brunette gasped in pain as her head slammed against the wood, only for Hope to silence the sound with her lips. She gave into the kiss completely, in a way she hadn’t allowed herself to earlier. 

It was both everything she wanted and nothing she knew she longed for until now. 

A pleased growl rumbled low in her chest as Josie helplessly moaned into her mouth, whimpering at the force of the kiss. Their lips would be swollen and bruised after, Hope knew, but a part of her liked the thought of seeing Josie like that. 

Needy. 

Desperate. For her, only for her. 

Only for _Hope_. 

She drove the other girl higher up the wall, an inch off the floor, pushing their hips flush together. The position wasn’t great, definitely not the most convenient, and maybe just _maybe_ they should have stayed on the bed, but the tribrid couldn’t find it in herself to regret it. 

(Later, she would. But not now.) 

Josie parted her lips with a sigh and Hope slipped her tongue between them, not wanting to miss the opportunity to taste her. The siphoner met her readily with her own, tangling one hand into her hair and slipping the other one underneath her shirt like an afterthought. 

It was sloppy. Almost Violent. 

Hope groaned openly into her mouth when Josie raked her nails along her scalp. Her fingers dug into her skin and left red, burning lines in their wake. She was sure she had never felt like _this_ before. Hope could barely think straight. 

Desire burned hot and low in her abdomen, throbbing between her legs. She wondered if Josie was as turned on as she was. She wondered how wet she’d be if Hope slipped her hand under her skirt again. 

The tribrid pulled away from Josie, taking a second to just _look_ at her. 

Josie was panting, gasping for breath. Her eyes were screwed shut, pretty pink lips hanging open. Hope took in the slight sheen of sweat on her forehead, the pretty blush from her stomach to her cheeks. She watched as the brunette’s head tipped back against the wall, exposing the long column of her unmarked throat, almost like an offering. Hope desperately wanted to sink her teeth into the skin, desperately wanted to leave bruises that would remind the siphoner that she was hers and hers alone. 

It would be so easy, Hope thought. So easy to pull her in close and never let go. But she couldn’t. 

Josie must have wondered why the tribrid stopped. Her heavy-lidded eyes snapped open impatiently, darting around the room and landing on Hope. 

She reached down and pulled at the knot of the tribrid’s sweatpants, untying the drawstrings with delicate fingers. Hope flushed red, inhaling sharply when the other girl sent them falling down around her ankles. 

It was a move that forced all the air out of her lungs and left her weak at the knees. She glanced down at her pale legs and hoped they wouldn’t give out underneath her. She wouldn’t be able to take the humiliation. 

“Good?” Josie hummed, reaching behind her back. 

“Yeah,” Hope told her, smothering a whimper. She could barely recognize her own voice, it was so _rough_ , thick with lust. She clenched her eyes shut and hoped Josie wouldn’t mind. 

She didn’t think she did. At all. The siphoner seemed distracted, if nothing else. Her mouth traveled up and down Hope’s neck, leaving kisses like brands. They wouldn’t bruise, not at all, but Hope found herself wanting them to. She wanted each press of Josie’s lips to dig beneath her skin and take root in her blood, in her bones. 

Soft, breathy moans continued to fill the little space between them. Hope was surprised to realize that they were coming from _her_. 

The tribrid fluttered her eyes open as she felt something fall to the floor and hit the hardwood with a _thud_. She blinked and looked down. 

It was Josie’s bra. Her eyes widened. 

“Do you want me to leave the skirt on?” Josie asked, lifting her head up with a single finger under her chin. She sounded almost _innocent_ , but her voice was pure _sex_. “Hmm? Should I bend over the desk while you fuck me in it?” 

The tribrid nearly fainted. She could count on two hands how many times she'd had _that_ dream. She always forgot about it seconds after waking up, but—

“What the hell are you doing in my room?” 

Hope woke up on the floor, gasping for air and struggling to hide it. She couldn’t seem to catch her breath right no matter how much she tried. It was too quiet. 

Her heart pounded in her ears, but nothing could drown out the echo of her lover’s words in her head. _Should I bend over the desk while you_ fuck _me—_

Even now, it sent a chill down her spine that made her sigh in relief. She felt hot. Too hot. 

_Josie._

She placed a hand on top of her heaving chest, her eyes darting wildly around the room. She realized it was empty. She was alone. 

Where did Josie go? 

The tribrid sat up in alarm. It took her a long moment to realize that someone was standing in the doorway. 

Alyssa Chang. 

So _this_ was her room? Hope raised her eyebrows in surprise. After Alyssa moved out of their shared room a few weeks ago, she’d been left wondering where the dark witch had gone. 

“You have five seconds to get out before I _make_ you,” Alyssa told her rudely. When Hope made no move to leave, she started counting down. “Five, four, three…” 

Hope instantly stood up, her cheeks burning red in embarrassment. She tried to hide it by staring down at the floor, but it just made things worse. 

“Wait.” Alyssa stopped her before she could make it past the door. “What were you doing in here?” 

Hope ignored the other girl. It wasn’t that she was _scared_ of her or anything, she just couldn’t stand to be in this damn room for a single moment longer. 

The tribrid wrapped her fingers around the door knob and tried to open it, but the lock wouldn’t budge. She slowly turned around and glared at Alyssa, who was using magic to keep her inside the room. 

The witch shrugged. “I’ll let you go if you tell me.” 

_She’ll let_ me _go?_ Hope scoffed. As if she wasn’t an all-powerful tribrid, the only one of her kind. She could tear Alyssa limb from limb if she wanted. She could end this entire school. They were _lucky_ she was merciful. 

“Fine. Don’t,” Alyssa muttered. She knew threatening Hope would never get her anywhere. It never had. “I’ll just tell the whole school I caught you going through my underwear drawer. We’ll see who they believe.” 

The tribrid silently shook her head and tried the door again. Her fingers trembled around the knob. This time, it opened for her. 

As the door closed behind her, Hope brought her shaky hand up to her mouth and touched her lips. They were still tingling from the dream. 

She could have sworn it was real. 

_What the fuck?_


	3. Chapter 3

Hope spent the rest of the night tossing and turning in her bed, thinking about what had happened. 

The truth was, nothing _had_. It was just a dream. A figment of her imagination. That was _all_ it was. Something her starved, teenage mind had come up with to distract from her poor (nonexistent) sex life. It couldn’t have been anything else. Yet—

She could have sworn it was all real. 

The room, the bed, the wall. _Josie._ It was real. It must have been. God, it _felt_ like it. 

If Hope closed her eyes, just tight enough, just long enough, she could still hear the low rasp of _her_ voice, could still imagine the gasping pink lips that whispered sweet nothings into her ear and promised heaven. 

But it was quiet, now. So _quiet_. It drove her mad. The silence. 

Even now, staring up at the ceiling of her bedroom, she couldn’t escape it. _Shut up_ , she wanted to yell, but at what? It was getting harder and harder to deny it. 

Hope turned on her side. The bed next to her was as cold and empty as it had been all night. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting. 

(Josie?)

The dream stayed, stuck in her head and tearing at her insides, like an immortal refusing to die. It came back to Hope in flashes.

  
_I need more. I need you._ _Should I bend over the desk while you_ fuck _me_ —

Desire made her stomach clench. 

It was just a dream, Hope told herself, but then why did the ghost of _her_ touch still linger? Why did her head start to pound when she remembered the gentle weight of Josie in her lap? The scent of her hair as she pulled the siphoner in closer? The feeling of her hand on Hope’s chest? Her heart still ached to feel it again now. 

The tribrid shook her head. What was she thinking? No. She _wasn’t_. Hope could never have _her_. They were friends, that was all. Nothing more. 

She desperately wanted to go back in time, to when her only problem was choosing what fruit she wanted to eat for breakfast. Apple or banana? It was so simple. She just wanted to go back. But she couldn’t. 

Hope was in trouble. Plain and simple. 

There was no denying it. Kissing Josie hadn’t been strange or crazy. It had felt _normal_.

Perhaps that was the problem.

It didn’t make her see fireworks or cause butterflies to erupt in her stomach. But it made her want _more._

The dream left her unsatisfied. It left her aching for something. Something different. 

Maybe it hadn’t even been a dream at all. That was the only explanation. There were too many things wrong with what had happened. Things that didn’t make sense no matter how much Hope thought about it.

If it was just a dream, how had she ended up in Alyssa Chang’s room of all people? 

It was possible she’d been sleepwalking, but Hope had never done anything like that before. And Josie had never done anything like that either. She hadn’t been acting like herself. At all. She’d been a stranger. 

It wasn’t just a dream, then, Hope decided. It couldn’t be. 

By six in the morning, she was sure she had it all figured out. 

Her eyes were bloodshot and her hair was a mess, but she didn’t bother to fix either. Her gaze was set on the door. She needed to have a talk with the headmaster. As soon as possible. 

Hope stepped outside her room and found the empty halls of the school waiting for her. It felt...lonely. 

Just a couple of doors down, she wondered if _Josie_ was still sleeping inside her own room, or if she was wide awake like Hope. She wondered if the siphoner was having dreams, too. 

No. Hope cursed herself in her head. Of course not. 

That was how she knew something was wrong. Josie would never think of her in that way, and Hope would— _should_ —never either. There had to be something else, something bigger, at play. 

There _had_ to be. 

Alaric was already inside his office when Hope dramatically pushed the double doors open, but he wasn’t alone. The librarian of the school, Dorian, was with him. 

“There’s a new monster,” the tribrid declared. 

—

“I’m sorry,” Maya interrupted, but it was clear by the tone of her voice that she wasn’t sorry at all. She seemed almost _confused_. “Just to be clear—you found out you had feelings for someone and then immediately blamed them on a monster?” 

It wasn’t like that. Not at all. 

Hope wanted to say that it was more her assuming Josie could never like her back. She wanted to say that it had never been about _her_ feelings, that it was more doubt and insecurity clouding her judgement than anything else, but she said none of that. 

“I wouldn’t say _immediately_ ,” the tribrid joked instead. “I waited a few hours.” 

She glanced at Josie, but her girlfriend didn’t meet her gaze. She was staring at the ground. Hope couldn’t tell what she was thinking. 

“You’re a…” Maya trailed off as she tried to search for the right word. Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “You’re a dick,” she said, looking pleased with herself. 

“I know,” Hope muttered darkly, though she knew Maya didn’t mean it like that. She felt someone squeeze her hand and looked over. It was Josie. 

“It’s okay,” she told Hope, giggling. “You’re _my_ dick.” 

Hope frowned at her choice of words. The other girl only said things like that when she was drunk off her ass or well on her way to getting there. She eyed the red solo cup in Josie’s hand. It reeked of alcohol. Of fucking course. 

“Hey, where did you get that?” 

—

Hope stopped short when she saw that both men were still in their night robes, leaning over a mythology book propped open on the desk between them. Neither were wearing pants. 

They slowly looked up at her, unsurprised. 

“We know,” was all Alaric said. He turned back to the book. 

Hope made a face, taken aback and slightly offended. That was _not_ the reaction she’d been expecting. Her mouth fell open and she blinked, forcing it to close. 

“Oh.” The thing about the monster had been a wild guess. Something to make her feel better about herself. She hadn’t expected to actually be _right_ about it. “You...you do?”

“Yeah,” Alaric told her, slowly dragging his gaze off the book to meet her eyes. “We were attacked last night in the library.” 

_Attacked?_

Hope didn’t know quite why, but the word gave her pause. There was something there, deeper still, just out of her reach, that made her _wonder_. If the two men were caught off guard in the same way she was, then that must have meant…

_No._ The tribrid went pale and swallowed down the bile rising high in her throat. She didn’t even want to think about it. Just the thought of it made her want to throw up. 

“We?” Hope asked, unable to get it through her head. She scrunched up her nose and glanced between them. “As in, both of you? At the same time? _Together_?” 

Alaric and Dorian shared an awkward look, but neither of them said anything. They avoided her searching eyes and stared down at the book instead of answering. 

“So, you saw the monster, then?” Hope added, after a long moment of silence. She had a hard time reading the room. 

Both men nodded, but it was Alaric that spoke up. 

“Yes,” he said, gritting his teeth together like it bothered him. A muscle in his jaw ticked. “ _Yes_.” 

Hope bit her lip and stared curiously at him. She had never seen him look so affected before. It was unsettling. The tribrid couldn’t help herself. 

“What did it look like?” she asked. 

This time, it was Dorian who answered. 

“Well,” he started, somewhat hesitantly, “the monster was able to disguise itself, you know, as someone we both—”

He motioned between Alaric and himself jerkily. Hope had no idea what he was talking about. 

“—deeply respect and admire,” Dorian finished, rubbing at the back of his neck. A light sheen of sweat dripped down his forehead as he stumbled over his words. “And, well, _it_ approached us during a very vulnerable time—” 

“Emma,” Alaric cut the other man off. He sighed quietly and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning with his back against the desk. “The monster impersonated her and somehow knocked us both out. When we woke up, we realized what had happened.” 

Hope blinked, seemingly uncaring. Inside, she was trembling. Stuck somewhere between fear and disappointment. But what was she afraid of? And why did she feel so damn disappointed? 

( _Because you wanted it to be real_ , a voice whispered in her head. _You wanted it to be real_.) 

She looked back at the two men and watched them carefully. They looked...ashamed. _Embarrassed_. There was no doubt, now. Emma must have approached them in the same way Josie had approached Hope. 

Had she kissed them the same way? Hope wondered. Had she let them _touch_ her—

Not _she_ , Hope corrected herself. The _monster._ But separating the two in her mind was much harder than she originally thought it would be. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. 

Her mouth suddenly went dry and she couldn’t seem to part her lips. She tried to pull in air through her nose, but that didn’t work either. It was as though she’d just been hit over the head, but with what, she didn’t know. 

Hope clenched her hands into fists and forced herself to relax. After a few seconds that felt like hours, her fingers unfurled and went limp at her sides. She needed to pretend that everything was fine. 

“Is that why you’re both not wearing pants?” the tribrid asked, raising an unimpressed eyebrow. She pulled her lips into a smirk and hoped it looked convincing. “You almost had a threesome in the library?” 

Alaric opened his mouth to argue while Dorian went dead silent. Their faces turned purple as they struggled to deny it. Hope wanted to find it funny, she wanted to laugh at them, but instead she just felt numb. 

“No, no,” Alaric said quickly. “Of course not. It was just a dream. We would never—“ 

“Wait.” He paused, cutting himself off. He looked at her, then, _really_ looked at her. As if he was searching for something. Whatever he’d been looking for, he must have found it. “Who did the monster look like to you?” 

_Your daughter._

It would be so easy, she thought. To confess. But it would be so much easier not to. 

Hope never stood a chance, did she? 

She swallowed guiltily. Her face flushed pink, warm to the touch. She must have had a fever. There could be no other reason why her skin felt like it was on fire. 

“It’s not important,” Hope decided, not sounding entirely convinced that it wasn’t. 

The sudden lump in her throat was thicker, colder, than she could remember. She fought off a shiver that racked her entire body, freezing like ice in her veins. She swore she’d been hot just seconds ago. 

“Are you sure?” Alaric asked. He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. 

Hope nodded. The thought of getting caught made her stomach twist. Could they see right through her? _She_ saw right through her. She was sure they could, too.

“We should probably get a move on,” she told them both, desperate to change the subject. “Before the monster attacks anyone else, I mean.” 

Silence. 

It was awkward and suffocating and Hope could barely stomach it. It reminded her of the countless hours she had spent awake last night. 

She almost said _it_. Almost said that it was _Josie_. Almost said that it was Josie the monster had disguised itself as, that Josie was the person Hope had imagined it to be. Almost said that—

“Right,” Alaric agreed slowly, after a beat. “Okay.” 

Hope finally released the breath she’d been holding, but the man’s gaze never left her. She could see him watching her, out of the corner of her eye, even as she turned her body to hide the way her jaw clenched. 

“We’ll need to do some research,” the headmaster said, at last. “Get my girls and have them meet us in the library. It’s important we find out what kind of monster this is and how to stop it, fast. Don’t tell anyone else until we’re sure. Got it?” 

Hope flashed him a tight smile. “Got it.” 

That was how she found herself back in the dorm hall, standing in front of the twins’ door. She couldn’t bring herself to knock. What if Josie was the one to open it? 

She wasn’t sure she could face the other girl right now, though she knew that they needed to talk. She still had to apologize for whatever Josie had been mad about the day before. Even if Hope couldn’t look her in the eye long enough to think. 

Sighing, Hope brought her fist up to the wood and hesitated. Inside, she could hear the sound of water running, then, when she listened closer, the sound of someone snoring. Loudly. One of the twins must have been taking a shower while the other one was still sleeping. 

Good. That meant neither of them would answer the door and Hope could just walk away. Or not. The tribrid finally stepped forward and knocked. 

Too hard. 

(She couldn’t be blamed. She was nervous and put too much force into it.) 

Inside the room, the loud snoring stopped. The silence was followed by a mumbled curse, then the light padding of socks against the hardwood floor. 

“It’s literally six in the morning on a Sunday.” Hope jumped back as the door swung open. Lizzie appeared on the other side, an exasperated look on her face. “I swear to God, Mikaelson—“ 

“There’s a new monster,” Hope said shortly, not bothering to explain herself. “Your dad wants us all in the library to help figure out what it is. You should get ready.” 

The sound of the water running stopped. Hope tried to peek inside the room, but Lizzie kept the door closed tight enough that she couldn’t see anything. 

Bitch. 

“ _I_ should get ready?” Lizzie looked her up and down, her nose wrinkled in distaste. It was kind of rude, the way she did it. “ _You_ should get ready.”

Hope dropped her mouth open, slightly offended and suddenly feeling a little self-conscious. 

“Whatever,” she muttered, shaking her head. She didn’t have the time or energy to pick a fight right now. Her lack of sleep was starting to get to her. “Are you coming or not?” 

“Ha.” The blonde just laughed in her face. “To do more monster research? Hard pass.” 

“Um.” Hope absently noticed that the water in the shower had started running again. The sound was softer than before, almost muted. “I’m pretty sure this isn’t something you can pass.” 

“Trust me,” Lizzie said, rolling her eyes. “I’ve had enough run-ins with monsters to last a lifetime.” 

She stepped back and tried to shut the door in Hope’s face, but the tribrid was faster. She shoved her hand between them right before it could close. 

“You’re telling _me_ that?” she asked with a huff. 

Lizzie stared at her for a few, long seconds before she finally sighed and gave in. 

“Okay, okay,” she said, not looking happy about it at all. She rubbed tiredly at her eyes and groaned. “Just give me a few minutes to change.”

The blonde turned around and walked back inside her room. Hope sighed quietly. 

“Thank you,” she muttered after her, dropping her hand from the door. It was still open, just slightly, and Hope couldn’t help herself, though she knew she shouldn’t—

“Is, uh, Josie in?” she asked, forcing her voice to sound casual. It didn’t work. She already knew the answer, and Hope had never been a very good liar. 

Lizzie gave her a weird look. “Why?” 

That was the question, wasn’t it?

Hope didn’t know exactly _why_. She just knew that the two of them needed to talk. She would find out why later, she supposed. After Josie told her what she’d done wrong. 

“Do you think I can talk to her for a few minutes?” Hope bit her lip, adding, “Alone?” 

The blonde stomped back up to the door, now wearing a new shirt. Hope hadn’t even noticed she’d been changing clothes. 

“I hope you’re not trying to kick me out of my own room,” Lizzie told her. 

“I’m not,” Hope said. 

“Really, because—“

“I’m _not_ ,” the tribrid snapped, struggling to keep her frustration out of her voice. She took a step back and glanced pointedly around them. “I’ll stay out here.” 

Lizzie narrowed her eyes in thought. The two had a silent staring contest, until the blonde blinked. 

“Fine,” Lizzie relented with another groan. “I’ll be right back. But you owe me one.”   
  
  


Hope rolled her eyes fondly. “Yeah, yeah.” 

She straightened her shoulders as Lizzie shut the door and disappeared back into the room. The tribrid could hear a soft knock, then the sound of the shower turning off. 

“Josie? _Someone_ wants to talk to you.” 

Hope frowned. Why didn’t Lizzie just say her name? And why did she have to say it like _that_?

“Who?” 

_Josie_. Hope closed her eyes and exhaled shakily. The sound of the siphoner’s voice sent a shiver down her spine. How long had it been since she’d last heard it? 

“ _Who_?” Lizzie repeated, sounding almost exasperated. “Who _else_?” 

“Hope?” Josie asked. Her sister must have nodded. “I don’t want to talk. Tell her to leave.” 

The tribrid felt the blood drain from her face. She forced her body to stay still, biting her lip so hard it bled. That was the only way she could stop herself from—

“Woah, Jo,” Lizzie said. Her voice was slightly alarmed. “Are you sure?” 

There wasn’t an answer. Not one Hope could hear, anyway. After a few seconds, the door opened again. Lizzie stuck her head out.   
  
  


“She doesn’t want to talk,” she told Hope. “What did you do?” 

Hope couldn’t control the way her face fell. It took her several, long seconds to get her hands to stop shaking. 

“I don’t know,” she growled out, so miserably that it surprised them both. “See you in the library.” 

She turned around and left without another word. Of _course_ Josie didn’t want to talk to her. Why did ever she think the other girl would? 

The tribrid stormed down the hall and opened the door to her own room. She slammed it behind her. Hard. It did nothing to help calm her down. 

She felt impossibly on edge, impossibly _hot_ , as if she was burning from the inside out. Her head hurt and her chest ached. There was no relief.

Just one dream—just one taste—and Hope was _gone_. She suddenly wished she had never sought the siphoner out in the first place. Maybe, then, none of this would have happened. 

Maybe, then, Hope wouldn’t be thinking about Josie like _this_. Thinking about the way her lips felt against her own, the way she giggled into her mouth. The way she slipped her fingers under her shirt, the way she tugged her pants down her hips. 

Hope felt disgusted with herself. She was still wearing the same, damn clothes she had last night. As if the memory of the dream alone wasn’t enough. Josie would hate her if she knew. 

She needed to change, Hope thought, as she slipped into the bathroom. She needed to shower. She needed to get all evidence of that damn monster, that damn dream, off her. 

Hope stepped into the shower and turned the water on as cold as it could get. She hissed out a sigh of relief as the ice hit her skin. She convinced herself that she didn’t think about Josie once. 

When she was done, Hope changed and left her room to meet back up with Alaric and Dorian in the library. The first thing she noticed was that they weren’t alone. 

The two men sat together at a table in the back corner of the room, books and papers scattered messily all around them.  
  
  


Hope instantly recognized the familiar figures sitting with them: Landon, MG, and Rafael. Each one had their head inside a book. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what they were doing. Hope wasn’t stupid, either. 

“What are _they_ doing here?” she asked Alaric, right in front of them. “You told me not to tell anyone about this.” 

All three boys looked up, but none of them said a word. They knew better than to get involved.

“They’re here and they want to help,” Alaric told her simply, shrugging. “I’m not going to stop them. Are you?” 

Hope resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “No.” 

She huffed and sat down, cracking open the first book on the table she could reach. It was a mythology book on dream legends. She flipped to a random page and started reading. 

**Succubus**

**/səkyəbəs/**

**A succubus, plural form succubi, is a supernatural demon that entices humans and other creatures alike by changing form, or shapeshifting. It draws power from feeding off victims in their sleep, appearing as a seductive temptress in their dreams. Over the years, the succubus has evolved…**

The tribrid was startled out of her thoughts by a familiar giggle. It sounded like—

It sounded like Josie. Hope looked up from the book and almost dropped it. Her eyes fell on the entrance of the library. 

Josie and her sister were walking in her direction, talking and laughing about one thing or another. Not in _her_ direction, not exactly, but they were heading over to the table Hope was sitting at. 

(The one everyone else was sitting at, too. She wasn’t special.) 

How could she just laugh? Hope thought miserably. As if nothing happened? 

But nothing had. The tribrid instantly regretted thinking it. She was acting as if she had never seen another person laugh before. Why was it bothering her so much? 

“Hi, girls.” Alaric must have noticed them, too. He waved them over to sit down. “Thanks for coming.” 

He didn’t ask them how they were doing, or if they had slept well. It bothered Hope, but it must have bothered his daughters more. 

She watched Josie trap her bottom lip between her teeth and frown. It was a habit of hers Hope had never noticed before. 

Sure, she had always _seen_ Josie, had always noticed her, but never like this, not until now. She suddenly ached to run her fingers over the pout of her lips, to claim them with her own like she had last night. 

But she _hadn’t_ , and she never would. 

The tribrid looked away and pretended to be reading the book in front of her. 

(It wasn’t until she flipped the page that she realized she hadn’t read a single word.) 

“It’s not like we had a choice,” Lizzie muttered as she pulled out a chair. 

The blonde took the seat next to Hope, but Josie sat herself down across the table. She couldn’t have been further away from Hope if she tried. It unnerved the tribrid. She gritted her teeth together and seethed in silence, saying nothing. 

“We’re looking for a monster that can disguise itself as another person,” the headmaster told them, hesitating. “It may use _unconventional_ _means_ in order to lure its victims.” 

It looked like he wanted to say more, but he didn’t. 

“Is that all you’re going to tell us?” Lizzie asked impatiently, raising her eyebrows. Hope hid a smirk behind her book. 

“For now,” Alaric said. His eyes darted around the table until they landed on Dorian. The two exchanged a meaningful glance. 

“We don’t have much information,” Dorian explained. 

It was almost believable, almost _convincing,_ the way he said it, but Hope knew the truth. And the truth was, the three of them knew much more than they were letting on. 

“Hit the books, talk to each other,” Alaric continued. “If you have any questions, you can ask Hope. We believe she’s the only one that’s come into contact with the monster so far.” 

Hope snapped her head up in a mix of surprise and betrayal. She wasn’t expecting to be thrown under the bus like that. The tribrid opened her mouth to argue, but the pleading look Alaric sent her made her close it. 

Fine. If he didn’t want his daughters to know about his late night escapades, then Hope would stay quiet and take the fall. It was none of her business, anyway. 

She bit her tongue and avoided the curious eyes of everyone around her. They were all looking, staring at her, into the side of her head. 

All but one. 

Josie never _once_ glanced in her direction, as if she knew Hope was secretly watching her and was forcing herself not to notice. Again, the tribrid wondered what she had done wrong. 

It couldn’t be the dream. There was no way Josie knew about it. Hope hadn’t told anyone, and the siphoner was already upset hours before it even happened. What the hell was it, then? 

Hope scoffed quietly and returned to her book. 

“What are you doing?” she heard Lizzie ask. 

“Reading,” Josie whispered back, not bothering to look up from the page she was on. 

“Your book is upside down.” 

The brunette froze. 

“Oh,” she breathed out, a faint blush warming her cheeks. She glanced at Hope, for just a second, before flipping the book right-side up. 

The tribrid pretended not to notice. It took everything in her not to laugh. 

“Maybe it’s a changeling?” Landon spoke up, half an hour later, pointing at a page in the book he was reading. “It says here that they change form by feeding on people.” 

He leaned forward and started to read out loud. 

“Changelings can take the shape of any person they choose,” the boy said. “They shed their skin from human to human, leaving a puddle of blood, teeth, and nails behind.” 

The table went silent as they thought it over. It wasn’t the _worst_ possible explanation. It wasn’t the best one, either, though. 

“Good one, Lan.” Rafael clapped his brother on the back with a proud smile. “You solved it.” 

As if it was that easy, Hope thought, rolling her eyes. She didn’t know if it was just her ex-boyfriend or what, but for some reason she felt annoyed. Landon didn’t solve _shit._

“Hooray,” the tribrid deadpanned, pointing out the obvious. “Has anyone seen a pile of human remains lying around?” 

The table grew quiet again. It must have startled them all, not that Hope could blame them. She knew the words were uncalled for the second they left her mouth, but it wasn’t like she could take them back. 

“Oh.” Landon blinked, breaking the silence. His shoulders slumped at how fast he’d been shot down. “Right. My bad.” 

It made Hope feel kind of guilty. She hadn’t meant to snap at him like that. She instantly wanted to apologize, to comfort him, but did she still have the right to do that? 

The answer was, she didn’t. They weren’t close anymore. They _hadn’t_ been for a while. 

“What about a siren?” MG asked, his head buried deep in a book of his own. “They lure their victims in by—“ 

“No, I don’t think so,” Alaric cut him off, narrowing his eyes in thought. “Those are typically found near bodies of water.” He looked around the table. “Anyone else?” 

“I think I have something,” Dorian said, standing up from his seat. All heads turned to him. 

“What if the monster is a succubus?” He flipped a few pages of the book he was holding before placing it down on the table. “No, it has to be. Look, it makes perfect sense. Here.” 

Across the table, Hope swallowed hard as the man began to read. _Succubus_. The word was there, familiar, hidden deep in the book she still held tight in her hands. It was enough to drive her crazy. 

She had dismissed it before, not wanting to accept it. The thought of being seduced so easily made her sick to her own stomach. The thought that she had imagined every damn second made her even sicker. 

_I need more. I need you. Should I bend over the desk while you_ fuck _me—_

The tribrid closed the book, selfishly wanting to keep it all to herself. But it was too late. 

“A succubus takes the form of a loved one in order to seduce their prey, disguising themselves as whoever the victim finds most attractive.” 

Hope heard none of it. Her eyes were on Josie. Memories of the night before haunted her. They weren’t real, yet she couldn’t get them out of her head. How could something she imagined be so hard to forget? 

The siphoner glanced over and their eyes caught across the table. But only for a moment. Josie blushed and looked away, almost as if she was hiding something, too. 

“This supernatural species commonly attacks at night, when the victim finds themselves alone. They will hardly ever attempt to deceive entire groups at once, as they can find it difficult to manipulate more than one or two humans at a time.” 

Hope forced herself to calm down. It was the first time the other girl had looked her way all morning. Did it mean something? Or was Hope just overthinking things again? 

She struggled to steady her traitorous heart. It pounded deep inside her chest, slamming against her ribcage with every beat. She was sure they could all hear it. 

“That being said, it is important to note that they can successfully entice their prey in a matter of seconds. Most people won’t be able to tell the difference between the succubus and the person they’re disguised as.” 

Most people? Hope scoffed. She had never, not once in her life, been _most people_ , yet there she was.

An easy target. 

“Once the victim is lured in, the succubus can begin a process known as the _feed_. For this step, physical contact is not necessary. In almost all instances, close proximity alone is enough to satisfy the succubus.” He flipped to the next page. “They will then consume their victim’s life force until the person either falls asleep or dies. In most cases, the succubus isn’t hungry enough to feed until the point of death.”

Hope stared down at the table. At nothing. She felt dirty. Humiliated.

She had never hated Dorian more than in that moment. It wasn’t his fault, not really—they weren’t even _his_ words—but she couldn’t help but blame him. _God_ , did she blame him. 

Her hand curled around the edge of the wood, knuckles tense and pale. She tightened her grip and watched cracks form in the table. She’d forgotten what it was like to not hold back. 

_I need more. I need you. Should I bend over the desk while you_ fuck _me—_

It made her skin crawl. Something slimy twisted in her stomach and sent vomit up her throat. She let go of the table and shut her eyes. 

“Succubi are an intelligent species that avoid attracting attention to themselves. They will not stay in one place for very long, moving from town to town in search of food,” Dorian continued to read. “Some immature succubi can lose control, accidentally killing their victims if they get carried away.” 

With her eyes closed, Hope could feel the warmth of her dream coming back to her. _Josie._ Heat radiated from her touch, thrumming like magic just beneath her skin. 

It wasn’t real. 

She opened her eyes and found only the cold, lonely room of the library. She sucked in a shuddering breath that chilled her lungs on the way out. 

“More commonly, they prefer to leave their victims in a semi-permanent state of unconsciousness that encourages the fabrication of intense, vivid dreams.” 

_Intense_? Hope bit back a humorless laugh. Hours later, she still couldn’t get the dream out of her head. It was more than intense. It was all-consuming. Everywhere she turned, she couldn’t avoid it. 

“Combined with the amorous character of the succubus, these dreams often materialize as sexual in nature...” 

The librarian trailed off and paused, blinking in surprise. Hope looked up at him, wondering why he’d stopped reading. His eyebrows were furrowed as he stared down at the book, taken aback. 

“Victims may experience nocturnal emissions,” Dorian read aloud. He tried to sound as casual as he could, but Hope didn’t miss the dark blush rising up his neck. 

“Nocturnal emissions?” MG asked, confused.

(The Salvatore Boarding School didn’t offer the best Sex Ed classes.) 

Dorian stayed silent and shook his head to himself. He looked around the table, but no one else would speak up. Not until—

“Wet dreams,” Josie explained softly, flushing red to the roots of her hair. She hid her head in her hands and refused to look anyone in the eye. 

If Hope didn’t know any better, she would say that the other girl looked, well, kind of _embarrassed_. The tribrid stared at her curiously, but Josie never met her gaze. 

“Thank you, Josie,” Dorian told her with a grateful smile. He looked like he wanted to move on as much as everyone else did. “Now, where was I…?” 

The librarian found his place in the book and started to read again. 

“After waking up, victims often report intense feelings of euphoria and bliss,” he said. “If not woken up or interrupted from sleep, most will doubt they were even dreaming to begin with. It will be the most realistic nightmare of their entire life.” 

Hope realized that it had never been a dream. It was a nightmare all along, she thought. But then why did she still long to go back to sleep? 

“Do not be fooled. If you are attacked by a succubus, your first instinct will be to deny it,” Dorian read. “It is impossible to tell the moment you truly fell asleep. You will feel as though the only good thing in your life has been taken away from you. You will not want to believe that it was all just a dream...” 

The sudden, harsh screech of a chair being pulled out cut him off. Across the table, Josie stood up from her seat like a bat out of hell. 

Hope opened her mouth in surprise, but nothing came out. The entire library fell silent. A few students who had come in for some early studying looked over. 

“I-I have to go,” Josie blurted out in one breath, mumbling so quietly Hope wasn’t sure she heard her at all.  
  


She faced away from them and blinked back tears, wiping angrily at her eyes as she ran out of the library. 

Hope blinked, the soft sound of sniffling echoing loudly in her ears. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> last 3 chapters will be from josie’s point of view :) thanks for reading


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